Pure Snow: Blood and Beauty Divine
by KiyomaMiranda
Summary: 1st part of the Snowy Love Series. Until recently, Yami was just another student at Domino High. But lately, Yami's been avoiding Seto a little after he discovers his little secret. Seto doesn't know what he's hiding, but he'll figure it out and help him...somehow. Prideshipping. YYxS.
1. Chapter 1: The Party

**S.B.V.: This is the second story I've made, and I'm a little more confident in posting this one up!**

**Yami: That's the spirit, Sakura!  
**

**S.B.V.: I hope you like it!  
**

Pure Snow…Blood and Beauty Divine

* * *

Chapter 1 – The Party

"So are you free this afternoon, Yami?" Yami, an average teen with crimson eyes and tri-colored hair, sighed,

"I'm afraid to ask, but why do you want to know?"

The blonde male next to him cheered, "I'm throwing a party this evening! Can you come? Please? Please?"

There he goes. He's begging for him to come. Yami, who was reading the book he always brought with him, glanced at the joyful teen.

"Do I have to, Joey?" he asked him.

Joey said, "Don't worry. I promise you that it's only going to be a party with our friends in it and our friends _only_. So, will you come?"

He leaned his head against the wall. "I guess." _*If it'll get you to leave me alone!*,_ he thought as he was tackled by the happy teen. "Thanks, Yami! You're the best!"

He started running down the hall. He called behind him, "I'll pick you up at six!"

The male sighed. Well, that's that. He closed his book and began walking in search of his class. He runs into his violet-eyed twin on the way.

"I know that look, Yami. Let me guess…Joey begged you to come to his party tonight."

Yami turned. "Hey, Yugi. Yes, he did."

Yugi and Yami could have been confused for twin brothers. "Well, that's Joey for you. I'll see you later!"

"See you later." Yami called as he ran down the hall. He shook his head.

*What am I going to do about this?* Glancing at the clock, he checked his surroundings. His classroom was nowhere in sight. *That's great. I'm going to be late. Where-*

"Hi, Yami! Are you lost?" A white-haired, brown-haired female appeared at his side.

Yami glanced at her. "Amane, I need you're help."

She put out her hand. He promptly handed over his classroom schedule to her. Skimming it over, she looked around and pointed down a hallway.

"Just down there, take a left, and it should be the second door on your right." Amane handed him his schedule as he hugged her. "Thank you so much, Amane!"

"See you tonight?" She asked before he took off.

"Yes, I'll see you tonight!" he called behind him. Upon entering, he took his seat next to Ryou, Amane's brother. He also had white hair and brown eyes to match. Yami sat down just as the bell rang.

"Got lost again, Yami?" he had asked him.

"Yes. Amane helped me this time."

"That's my sister for you."

"All right, class! Settle down." The teacher called.

As they quieted down, he continued, "Welcome back, students! My name is Mr. Ushio and I'll be your mathematics teacher this year…"

At this point, Joey had passed out on his desk, Tristan, a male with brown hair, was busy flirting with Miho Nosaka, a girl with blue hair along with a bright yellow ribbon in it, Yugi was busy chatting with Ryou, and Yami had proceeded to continue reading his book. It was a romance novel where two males originally hated each other and eventually became inseparable lovers.

He was halfway through the book when he heard his name being called. "Yami?"

The teen didn't look up from his book, but merely responded, "Yes, sir?"

"I hope you're paying attention."

"Don't worry. I can hear everything you say." he responded airily.

"Is that so?" Mr. Ushio challenged. "Then tell me. What did I say earlier?"

Yami had a perfect memory. Without looking up, he recalled, "You expect us to get our work done so we can get through the year without any problems. Am I right?"

Everyone, except Joey, Tristan, Yugi, and Ryou, everyone stared at him. The teacher stammered, "Y…Yes…Carry on, then."

He went back to his desk. "Now, we won't start the lessons until Thursday. In the meantime…"Yami, with his thoughts still on his book, was completely oblivious to the other students beginning to talk among themselves. A brunette put his hand on Yami's desk startling him. "Well, well…_That's_ something. You looked as if you had no intention of listening and you managed to tell him exactly what he said word for word. I wonder what else you can do."

Yami stared indifferently into the icy blue eyes that pierced him with their warm gaze. "I hope you have a reason for hitting on me, Seto." He blinked. "What made you think that I was trying to hit on you?" "Let's just say that you were being a little obvious." Yami could tell in an instant how a person feels based on how they act. The lunch bell rang allowing Yami to slip out of the classroom and out of Seto's sight.

* * *

After he finished lunch, he told his friends where he was going and headed for the library. He signed in, sat down at an empty table, and continued reading his book. A couple of minutes passed before he got up and headed for a computer. He pulled out a flash drive and put it in the computer. Yami happens to be a fanfiction writer. (Isn't _**that**_ ironic?) Once the file containing his story had loaded up, he continued typing it up. The stories he types up relate to his own life. He knew that the readers would want an update soon. His latest one involved two males from different animes and turned each one into an animal. One was a fox and the other was a wolf. When he saw the amount of reviews on his third chapter, he knew he had to finish what he started.

He got as far as the tenth chapter before he heard someone say, "What's this, Yami?" It was Seto!

Startled, he quickly saved the file before closing it, preventing the brunette from seeing anymore.

"Seto! What are you doing here?" He demanded as he blushed from the fact that someone almost caught him. Seto gave the teen a teasing look.

"I wanted to know what's up. I asked Malik where you had-"

"Liar! You followed me here, didn't you? Why are you interested in someone like me? It's not like anyone cares about me!" The brunette gave a puzzled glance at the cryptic male. "What are you talking about? You have your little friends."

"That's not what I meant!" Yami blurted with a flustered look on his face. Seto stared at the confusing boy in front pf him.

"You've been acting strange lately. Is there something wrong?"

"I'm fine!" he said quickly. "What made you think that something was wrong?" The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Yami grabbed his things and ran out, calling, "I'll see you in class!" and leaving a bewildered Seto Kaiba in the library.

* * *

After Mr. Hirutani's lecture of what he expects from the students this year, he left them alone to do whatever they want for the rest of class. Seto walked up to an unsuspecting Yami, who once again had his thoughts in his book.

"Yami?" Yami continued to ignore him. It wasn't until the brunette had snapped his fingers to get his attention that he jumped and dropped his book. "Y-yes?" He stuttered as he picked his book up off the floor.

"I wanted to ask you something." he began. "How come-" The final bell rang, interrupting the brunette in his question and allowing all of the students to run out of the room and head home. " I have to get going! See you tomorrow, Seto!" The tri-color haired teen called behind him as he started walking towards home. The brunette could only watch as the male walked off. Yami glanced back once, wondering what he had seen in him.

* * *

Joey came over at six like he promised.

He yelled, "Yami? It's me, Joey! You comin' or not?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He grabbed his key, phone, wallet, and flash drive before walking out the door with his friend and locking it behind him. They got into the blonde's car and they sped down the highway.

Along the way, Yami dared to ask, "So, who's coming to the party?"

Joey winked into the mirror in front of him. "I'm keeping that a secret until we get there."

"Joey! You know how much I hate surprises! Don't you remember what happened _**last time**_you pulled some random stunt on me?"

The male smiled. "Oh yeah…"

"Tell me who's at the party or I'll kill you." He threatened.

Joey sheepishly replied, "Okay, okay! Let's see…Tristan, Téa, Yugi, Ryou, Malik, me, you, and one other person. Oh, Mai and Duke are coming, too."

"Who's the last one?" Yami inquired curiously.

"Duke? He's-"

"Not him, dimwit. You mentioned one other person. Who is it?"

Joey looked at him briefly. "Sorry, Yami. I'm a dead man if I tell."

"You're a dead man if you don't!" the teen growled.

"Is that a threat?" Joey teased as he parked the car.

Yami grinned evilly. "Don't tempt me, Joseph."

"Hey! What did we say 'bout that?" he cried indignantly.

Yami rolled his eyes at him. "_**You**_ started it."

As soon as they walked in, Yami stopped dead in his tracks. Now he saw why Joey refused to tell him who else was at the party. Because _**Seto**_ was there.

* * *

**~A/N: **_Isn't that exciting? This is my second ever story. I figure you'll want an update soon. I'll try to get it done at the earliest convenience. Seto and Yami being at the same party...That's going to be fun! What to do now…? Please review! _


	2. Chapter 2: Caught in the Act

Chapter 2 – Caught in the Act

"Joey! I'm going to kill you for this!" The male whispered furiously. The blonde reeled back in shock. Sure, he had seen Yami get mad before, but this time, Joey didn't know what he did wrong.

"What did I do?" Joey whispered back. Yami pointed to Seto, who had no idea that Yami had arrived.

"Why is he here?"

"Whatever happened, I didn't know! I swear to you! Wait, did something happen between you two?"

Yami knew where this situation was headed and he didn't want any part in it."No! Nothing happened! I'm leaving."

The blonde next to him said, "Wait!"

Yami turned to walk out the door. Before he could, someone wrapped their arms around his waist. He gasped in shock. He heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Where are you going, Yami? Leaving so soon?" Seto mumbled in his ear.

*Oh shit!* Yami thought. *I can't leave now.* "Hi, Seto. I didn't realize you were here."

Joey leaned over and whispered, "You lying bastard."

Someone called Joey's name. A black-haired teen with dice-shaped earrings came over to the trio.

"Joey. You coming?" Joey closed his eyes.

"I'll be with you guys in a minute, Duke. Be patient." Duke nodded and walked back to the group he brought together. Joey turned his attention to the teen in Seto's arms.

"The computer's upstairs, Yami." Yami slipped out of the brunette's grasp and headed upstairs.

"Thanks, Joey" he said before disappearing from sight. He just wanted to be alone.

* * *

Yami walked into Joey's room and shut the door. He walked over to the desk by the window and turned on the laptop sitting on the desk. Once it started up, he put in the flash drive and uploaded his story. He continued on the final chapter on his first story. He typed:

**Dusk had come at last, and the spell on the boy took effect once more. He was transformed into the lone wolf that everyone feared. Turning to where the sun had set, he set out to find the boy he had fallen for. The gray wolf padded into the woods alone. He suddenly stopped in his tracks. The smell of blood was all around him. Hidden in the sickening scent, however, he detected the scent of his lover. He raced through the night to find him. Once he located him, it wasn't the brunette he fell for at all! What he found was a-**

"You write fanfiction? That's something worth knowing." Yami froze. Seto was behind him and he knew it.

"Why are you following me, Seto? What is it that makes me so interesting to you?" He quickly saved the file and pulled out the flash drive. He turned to look at the brunette to see him laughing. Furious, Yami picked up a nearby book and smacked him at the back of his head.

"Ow!" Seto continued laughing as if nothing happened.

"That's it. I'm leaving." Yami gathered his things and went to the door. Seto glanced at him and stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going? The night is still young."

"I don't care. I'm going home."

"Why are you so desperate to leave?" Seto demanded.

"Why do you need to know?" Yami began shouting. Joey walked into the room.

"Isn't something wrong?" Yami and Seto exchanged glances. Yami made his way around the two.

"No. But I should be going." Joey stared at him.

"Why? The party's still going!" Yami ignored him and walked downstairs.

"Yami! Wait! You can't leave yet!" Yami ran out the door and kept running. He was heading straight home. He looked back once to see Seto and Joey watching him leave their sight.

Once he disappeared, Joey glanced at the brunette, asking, "What's _his_ problem?"

* * *

When morning came, Yami was woken by a phone call…from Joey. He glanced at the clock and groaned. It was about 6:30 in the morning…a really bad time to be calling your friend when they are sleeping.

He picked his cell and answered it. "I hope you have a good reason for calling me so early, Joey." He mumbled angrily.

Joey responded with an equal tone. "_What's the deal, Yami__? __You sit upstairs for a little while, and suddenly ditch everyone once Kaiba walks up__. __Don't you care about you're friends__?"_

Yami started screaming into the phone. "Listen here, Joey! I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't care what _**anyone**_ thinks of me! If you guys have a problem with it, I don't want to hear it. I just want everyone to leave me alone!"

He hangs up before Joey could say anything about his attitude. Yami began felt sick again. He picked up the bottle of sleeping pills and took a couple before lying down. Before he knew it, he fell asleep…unaware that Seto was calling.

* * *

Yami woke with a start. It was 3:30 in the afternoon and his phone was going off. The ringtone that screamed 'Joey's calling you' was playing.

Yami rolled over to pick it up. "Really, Joey, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

_"__This isn't Joey, Yami__."_ answered the male on the phone.

Yami responded, "Seto? What are you doing with Joey's cell?"

_"__**Hi, Yami**__**!**__" _

_"__Shut up, Joey__.__ You already made a mess of things this morning__."_

Yami stared at the phone for a minute. He hesitantly asked, "Am I on speaker?"

There was a laugh on the other end. _"__Yes__.__ Why__?"_

He heard giggling in the background form Joey. Rage bubbled inside of him and he hung up without another word. When they heard the click, Seto and Joey burst out laughing.

Yami looked at his cell. It said he had missed a call. He pushed a button to hear the voicemail.

_*"__Yami__? __It's me, Seto__. __I'm getting a little concerned about you lately__. __You've been acting a little strange for the past few days__. __If you have something to say, I'm here for you__. __Call me when you can__."*_

Yami sat there for a moment before putting the number on the call into his phone. He deleted the message soon after. He was happy that Seto cared for him and all, but he didn't want anyone involved in his personal life right now.

He felt dizzy for a moment. He mumbled, "…Damn it. Not…again…" before passing out. Whatever happened to him, he won't remember when he wakes.

* * *

**~A/N: **_Uh oh. Yami's not in a very good condition. I wonder what happened to him. We'll find out in the next chapter! Please review!_


	3. Chapter 3: Starry Shadows

Chapter 3 – Shadows and Stars

Around noon, Yami woke up with a massive headache. He mumbled, "What happened to me?" He looked around in despair. "Why I can't I remember what happens to me when everything goes black?"

* * *

_Flashback:_

It was a little past midnight when Yami slowly opens his eyes to see the world before him. The darkness covered the entire room while the bright starlight lit up a single part of the bedroom. He stood to his feet and walked over to his desk by the window. He gazed at the stars in the night sky wondering why he was someone who suffered night after night.

"It's so sad that my host has no idea I exist. How long will it be until I become known to his broken soul?" He looked at the tarot cards on the desk. "I guess I can read the future for now."

The crimson-eyed teen picked up the deck and shuffled it countless times. When he finished, he drew a card from the top, a card from the bottom, and a card from the middle. He set them side-by-side and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he flipped the first card over. It was the Death card. It was nothing surprising to him. Someone died every month. He flipped over the next card. It was the Wheel of fortune card. Yami stared at it for a moment before turning over the last card. It was The Lovers card.

"Uncertain love, yet certain death. Why aren't these easier to read?" He wrote down the cards on a sheet of paper and left it on the desk.

After a final glance at the stars, he slipped into bed and fell into blissful dreams at 2:00 am.

* * *

_Present Time:_

Yami stood to his feet and stretched his arms, yawning, "Ra, I didn't expect the sleeping pills to knock me out for so long." Yami can't sleep at night. That's why he takes sleeping pills every night. He walked over to his desk and found a sheet a paper with a tarot card reading written on it… in his own handwriting.

He stared at it, saying, "I don't remember getting up last night. Where did this come from?" He set it down and pulled out a book that teaches him to read tarot cards. He searched for the card description of the cards. He found the Death card description.

"Death? I wonder who it's going to be this time. Someone I know dies practically every month these days." He located The Wheel of Fortune card in the book.

"Oh, great. That's just what I need." He glanced at The Lovers description before putting down the book.

"How is someone supposed to read something like this?" He tossed the book towards a massive pile of books left in front of his bookshelf.

He suddenly felt a burning sensation in his chest and began coughing. Yami had gotten himself sick lately and he doesn't know how or why. His cell began ringing. It was Joey…again. He picked it up answered hoarsely,

"Joey? *cough cough* Is…Is that you? *cough cough*" The voice on the other line wasn't Joey. It was the brunette that he was recently avoiding.

_"__Yami? It's Seto. Are you alright? You sound horrible."_ Yami set the phone down and put it on speaker.

"Why are you *cough* calling me, Seto? *cough*" Before the brunette could reply, Yami had gone into some sort of coughing fit and couldn't stop.

The brunette heard him and started shouting frantically, _"__Yami? Yami, are you okay? Say something!"_

The crimson-eyed male attempted to speak, but it resulted in another bout of coughing. He heard the boy saying something, but he couldn't focus. All of his senses were pretty much fucked up. He headed downstairs to clear his head. He held onto the railing for balance. About halfway down, he heard someone knocking on the door. "Yami?"

The brunette at his front door. Now that was something. He quickly made his way to the door to unlock it. Once he did, he fell onto the couch nearby. The door was swung open with a worried Seto Kaiba coming inside. His vision started going black as the brunette was calling his name. Soon, everything in sight fell into darkness.

* * *

A couple of days later, Yami came around with a raven-haired child at his side. As his eyes refocused, he saw Ryou come into the picture as well.

The albino noticed him waking. "Yami? Are you alright?"

Crimson eyes stared into brown before the male blinked a few times. His friend sighed, "Thank goodness. You gave everyone quite a scare. Seto was absolutely terrified when you had collapsed without warning."

Yami stared at him in confusion. "Whatever do you mean?"

Both of the males stared at him. The raven-haired boy (what was his name…Mokuba? Yes, that's his name) asked, "You…don't remember what happened?"

The tri-color haired teen shook his head. "No, I remember what happened. But _**he**_ doesn't. I'm a little shocked though. He doesn't usually get sick." The brunette walked in without notice.

Mokuba couldn't stop staring at Yami. His brother mentioned that this boy was an enigma at times. But this was a little much even for him. Ryou gazed at the otherwise oblivious Yami.

"Whatever sickness you had caught, it's gone now. Honestly, you frightened us half to death! You could've died from this random-" Yami suddenly started giggling for no reason and pounce on the somewhat invisible brunette in front of him.

"Seto!" Shocked at the unexpected outburst, he was almost knocked over by the odd teen.

"Yami? What has gotten into you lately?" he demanded as the albino approached them.

The tri-color haired teen stared happily into the taller male's warm blue eyes. "Nothing! Nothing at all!" he cried as he released Seto and started spinning in circles. Ryou watched him in disbelief.

He focused long enough to say, "You've been acting very peculiar as of late. What's happened to make you act this way?"

Yami stopped spinning to face the three. "That's just it, Ryou! Nothing has happened! It's just me!" He once again began giggling uncontrollably. He quickly calmed himself before addressing them again.

"I apologize. It's just been so long since I've roamed for a while. I think it's about time I introduce myself. I'd rather not be confused with my host."

"Host?" The brunette asked in bewilderment. Yami (?) made a simple bow.

"My name is Aedrian Étoile. It's so nice to finally meet you all." Ryou, Mokuba, and Seto exchanged confused glances as Yami (or "Aedrian", as he is calling himself) remains standing with a grin, quietly laughing at their stunned silence.

* * *

**~A/N: **_So, what do you think? I need help from you guys. Here's the deal: I'm planning on making a Yu-Gi-Oh! version of Alice in Wonderland, but I don't have a solid plan of who will play what character. You can take any character and fit them into these roles: Absolem, Alice, Bayard, Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter, Mally, March Hare, McTwisp, Red Queen, Stayne, and White Queen. If there are any major roles I'm missing (which I most likely am), alert me and please give a suggestion. I would love it if you guys could send a review with your ideas. I will give the results when I make up my mind. Thank you all for your time and I'll see you in the next chapter! Please Review!_


	4. Chapter 4: A Poker Game

**DISCLAIMER: See Chapter 1**

Chapter 4 - A Poker Game

Seto glanced at Yami(?) with worry. He had known him since the eight grade and he's never acted like this before! Ryou decided to send his yami a message via mind link while Aedrian(?) showed Mokuba a few card tricks. Wait 'til Bakura hears about this one...

* * *

Bakura was reading a horror novel on the couch in the living room when his hikari contacted him.

_*"Bakura? Can you hear me?"* _He didn't move, but he sent a simple, *"Yes."* back to Ryou.

_*"Yami's gone around the bend."*_

That made the thief pause for a moment and look up from his book. *"Wait...what did you say?"*

_*"You heard me. Yami's lost his senses. He acts like a completely different person."* _Bakura cracked a smile that threatened to burst.

He sent back the thought, *Thanks for the update.* before shutting off his end of the link and bursting into hysterical laughter. Marik's head popped out of the kitchen and asked, "What's so funny, Bakura"

Malik walked down the stairs staring at his game and asked, "Did he find some of your drugs again, Marik?"

Marik shot him an indifferent glare. "I hope not."

The albino tried to stop laughing, but without success as he laughed even harder. Marik approached him and put a hand on his chest and said, "Breathe, Bakura! Breathe!"

Bakura eventually slowed his laughter and stopped long enough to form words. "I...I think...I'm okay now."

The violet-eyed blonde stepped back to give him room and asked, "Now, what in the name of Ra was so funny?"

Bakura said, "He's lost his mind. The Pharaoh..."

Marik narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about, Bakura?"

Malik saved and shut off his video game, saying, "You made absolutely no sense whatsoever."

Bakura finally clarified, "I said the Pharaoh has lost his mind!"

Both blondes stared at him like he really did get a hold of Marik's drugs again.

"He's bullshitting us, right?" Marik laughed weakly.

"He's got to be. I don't know what I'll do if he's telling the truth." Malik responded nervously.

Bakura shouted indignantly, "I'm not lying! Ryou told me so himself!"

Malik mumbled, "Ryou doesn't lie."

"If that's really true, then I need to see this for myself!" Marik laughed.

The albino sniffed the air. "Why does something smell like it's burning?"

The violet-eyed blonde widens his eyes, saying, "Oh, shit!" and runs back to the kitchen.

Malik laughs at his yami. He then asks sarcastically, "How about we eat first, _**then**_ we see Yami?"

* * *

The trio arrived at the Kaiba mansion at about 4:30 that afternoon. Bakura was wearing a black coat and, for some strange reason, a black choker with spikes coming from it. Marik wore a black coat as well. Malik wore a dark green jacket. Malik knocked on the door, calling, "Kaiba? We're here!"

The brunette showed up at the front door. He said, "Oh, you're here. Come on in." and walked away.

Suspicious at Seto's willing welcome, they hesitantly stepped inside. Upon entry, they notice Ryou and Mokuba playing a game of cards. "Hey, guys!" Mokuba greeted as Ryou waved at them. Malik waved back before shutting the door.

Marik began calling Yami's name as Bakura asked, "So, where's Yami?"

Mokuba answered, "That's what we want to know!"

Seto looked around and called, "Yami? Wherever you are, you can come out now!"

Suddenly, Bakura and Marik were tackled to the ground by a boy with crimson eyes and tri-color hair, shouting, "Yay!" causing Mokuba and Ryou to laugh at their expense.

Marik landed on the ground face first and Bakura was lying on his back on top of the tan-skinned blonde. The teen sat on top of the thief like a dog and smiled, saying, "Hiya!"

The violet-eyed male groaned, "Oww..." Bakura regained his senses and said, "That's some greeting he's got. Does he do that to everyone?"

"Actually, this is the first time I've seen him do that." Seto said warily. He looked at the boy on top of them and politely asked, "Could you please get off of them?"

The teen immediately slid off of the duo and returned to the brunette's side. He wrapped his arms around him and said, "I love you."

Bakura glanced at his hikari, saying, "When you told me he lost it, you weren't kidding!"

Marik raised his head, then just as quickly put it back down when the room started spinning in his eyes. Bakura rolled off of him to crawl to the wall. Leaning up against it, he watched the blonde Egyptian prop himself on his arms and said, "Ra damn it, my back is killing me!"

He turned over to ease the throbbing pain and sat against the wall for a little while. He glared at the former pharaoh, growling, "A warning would've been nice, Yami!"

The teen cocked his head to the side. "Who's Yami?"

Malik gave him a puzzled look. "You are. Do you not remember who you are?"

The male shook his head, laughing, "No. I'm Aedrian."

The trio harmoniously said, "Aedrian?"

"My name is Aedrian Étoile. Sorry about earlier. I couldn't help myself. You three must be Marik, Bakura, and Malik."

They stared at him in confusion. Mokuba laughed, "What, did you guys actually think I was talking about Yami mysteriously disappearing somewhere? I was referring to Yami's state of mind."

Aedrian smiled and asked, "Would it make any sense to the three of you if I said that Yami is me and I am him while I am myself and he is himself?"

"No, that made absolutely no sense to me in any way, shape, form, or fashion to me whatsoever. Why?" Bakura replied as Mokuba and Ryou began snickering.

The teen shrugged, "I was just curious."

Seto looked at the two yamis and said, "You two have plenty of experience in insanity, right?"

Marik gave him a look that said 'What are you talking about?' as Bakura said, "Well, this doesn't look like a case that involves Shadow Magic, if that's what you mean."

The brunette clarified, "Some sort of derangement like...Multiple Personality or OCD. Something of that nature."

The thief stepped towards the male to look into his eyes. Aedrian suddenly hisses, "If you don't step away from me this instant, I swear to Ra I'm going to kill you in your sleep."

He flinches and looks at Seto. "Sorry, Kaiba, but I don't know what's wrong with him. Whatever it is, it could clear up in a number of days for all I know."

Marik stood to his feet and walked over to the couch. Bakura glanced over to the pile of cards on the floor. Aedrian followed his gaze, smiling, "I propose we play a game!"

The raven-haired teen handed the deck of cards to Aedrian, saying, "Ryou and I will be in my room if you need us." and ran upstairs with the white-haired Britain following close behind.

Bakura asked, "What did you have in mind?"

The teen smirked, "How about 'Strip Poker'?"

Suddenly interested in the offer, Marik shot up from the couch, saying, "Count me in!"

Bakura shrugged his shoulders. "I may as well play. Marik sucks at Poker."

"I do not!"

As they continued bickering over Marik's skill at Poker (or lack thereof), Aedrian stared at Seto with innocent eyes. A moment or two later, the brunette had practically given in to his looks. "Oh, alright, I'll play."

Aedrian cheered, "Yay! Seto's playing!"

He sat on the floor with Bakura to his right, Seto to his left, and Marik directly across from him. He shuffled the cards, asking mischievously, "Shall we begin?"

* * *

Six rounds go by and Aedrian is winning. While he only had his choker off, Seto and Bakura only had their pants on, and...Marik was practically dead last. He can only survive for another turn.

"Gahh! This is bullshit!" he cried while Malik just watched him rant, laughing all the while. Once the cards were dealt and it had come down to the last card, they bet their chips. Aedrian put down 200, Seto matched him, Bakura folded, claiming it was 'too rich for his blood', and Marik unwittingly put in the rest of his chips. Aedrian flips over the card and smirks victoriously.

He slowly puts down his cards and says, "Royal Flush. I win again!"

They simultaneously shout, "BULLSHIT!" Marik throws down his cards and picks up his clothes.

"That's it! I forfeit!" he shouts before standing to his feet and stalking off to a different room. When he returns, Seto and Bakura had their pants off. Aedrian laughed evilly, "Now, let's continue."

At one point, when Aedrian and Seto were shirtless, they glanced at each other, blushed, and looked away. Bakura couldn't help smirking at the momentary connection. Joey, Mai, Duke, Tristan, and Téa walked in a minute later.

"Hey, guys! What's-" Joey's voice stopped short at the sight of two blushing teens and game of Strip Poker.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Duke asked in disbelief.

Mai looked at them for a moment before Bakura said, "It's a game of Strip Poker. What does it look like to you?"

"A couple of lunatics watching a couple of teens playing a friendly game of cards? I don't know." Tristan said sarcastically.

Marik rolled his eyes at the comment as Seto said, "Two Pair."

"Full House." Aedrian countered confidently.

"So, who's winning?" Téa asked innocently.

The violet-eyes blonde pointed at the crimson-eyed male. "He is. And if I'm right, he'll take Kaiba out in a couple of rounds."

Bakura glanced at him skeptically before challenging, "Fifty bucks says you're wrong."

"You're on!" Marik accepted

"Ha! Now _**I've **_ got the Full House this time!" Seto proclaimed, slamming his cards down.

Aedrian put his hand down with a smile. "I'm sorry, but I happen to have a Straight Flush with all Clubs."

"Damn, he's good!" Marik gaped at the male. Bakura rolled his eyes. "I swear he's cheating somehow!"

Aedrian scowled at him. "It's impossible to cheat in Poker!"

He glances at the brunette beside him and says, "How much are you willing to bet that you're going to win this round?"

The blue-eyed male sighs and puts down his cards. "Straight Flush. King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine. All Hearts." He smiles, confident that he won the round. "Top that!"

"What a coincidence. I happen to have a Straight Flush as well." He puts down his cards one at a time. "Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten. All Spades." He looks Seto in the eye. "I win."

The all stare at the competing hands. Bakura gaped at it this time, saying, "That's some serious bullshit. No way in hell is this scenario possible. In any way, shape, form, or fashion is this even possible."

The teen picked up the entire deck and began shuffling it as Marik held out his hand. "Pay up, Bakura." Seto had picked up his clothes and walked off into a different room to change.

The albino took out his wallet and pulled out the money. Handing it to him, Marik smugly said, "Thank you."

"Shut up." he growled.

Aedrian glanced over to Joey with a grin on his face. "Would you like to see a card trick?"

The blonde responded with a ,"What kinda card trick?"

"I'll pull your favorite card out of this deck and show it to you." the crimson-eyed teen responded.

Joey scoffed at the idea. "That's some bullshit and you know it."

The male laughed, "Well, why don't you take a card..." he held the entire deck for Joey. "And see for yourself?"

He took one of the cards. Before he got a chance to look at it, the male in front of him said, "Don't look at it. Just put it back on the top."

"Don't look at it? Why not?" he asked, thoroughly confused.

The teen shook his head, "Just put it on the top."

Doing as he was told, Joey placed the card on the card deck and watched Aedrian shuffle it to his heart's content. Once he stopped, he randomly pulled out a card and said, "_**This,**_" he pulled out the Flame Swordsman. "Is your favorite card."

Joey was stunned. He snatches the card out of his hand to stare at it. He flips it over to see the blue back of the cards Aedrian held. Turning it over to the front, he sees a colored joker in the place of the Swordsman that he saw a moment before. Turning it back again, the blue color had turned red. "What the hell?!" he shouted in pure confusion.

Aedrian laughed, "Life's full of surprises, isn't it, Joey?" He glances at the taller Egyptian blonde and pulls out a black wallet from his pocket.

"Is this yours, Marik?" he innocently inquired.

"What are you..." his voice trails as he searches his person. He pulls out a similar one. "No. I have mine right here."

"That's _**mine**_, Marik!" Bakura growls and snatches it from him.

"How do you know if it is or isn't?!" the violet-eyed teen shouts. The albino pulls out his own driver's license from it and flashes it to Marik.

"This is how I know." he simply states before putting his wallet away.

Marik looks back at Aedrian who's still smiling and putting Marik's wallet in his jacket pocket. Said blonde puts his hand out and growls, "Give it back."

With his hands still in his pockets, he began slowly pulling out the male's driver's license and his credit card, Aedrian stalled, "Mm...I'm not so sure if I particularly want to. Maybe I'll hold onto it for safekeeping."

Marik took a few steps in his direction. "Hand...it...over..." he growls, his eye twitching.

Aedrian sighed and pulled the wallet out, leaving Marik's license and credit card in his pocket. "Fine. Take it. Like I really care."

Once he takes it, Marik shoves it back into his coat pocket and storms outside. Moments later, there was a crash heard outside. Hearing the collision, Bakura, Seto, Aedrian, and Malik ran outside.

* * *

**~A/N: **_Bakura__: I swear he cheated in that card game!_

_Yami (Aedrian)__: Did not!_

_Bakura__: Did too!_

_Yami (Aedrian)__: Did not!_

_Bakura__: Did too!_

_Malik__: How did he switch the wallets without them knowing?!_

_Yami (Aedrian)__: That's my little secret!_

_Marik__: Whatever. What happened to me outside?_

_Sakura__: You'll see in the next chapter. I just hope you have medical insurance._

_Marik__: What?!_

_Sakura__: I'm just kidding!_

_Ryou__: Oh, my...Oh well, Please Review!_


	5. Chapter 5: An Old Friend

Chapter 5 - An Old (Technically Young) Friend

* * *

"Son of a bitch!" Marik screamed as he limped out of his now destroyed car.

"Marik!" Bakura cried as he ran out to him. The police had already shown up at the scene. The man who hit him must've broken the speed limit for authorities to be here already. As the albino helped him to his feet, Aedrian (See Chapters 3 and 4 for details) walked over to the car and glanced at the driver. He widens his eyes. He knew this man. He's a good man. Or was, if he died in the collision.

He tried to get the man's attention. An officer shouted, "Kid! Step away from the crime scene at once!"

As he turned, a scent caught his attention. He checked to see if the officer was looking before turning back to the scene. He opened the car door and shifted things around to find the source of the scent he caught. Unfortunately, the same officer caught him.

"Hey! You're messing with a crime scene! Step away from there at once!"

Aedrian found what he was searching for. An orange container full of marijuana. "I found something you need to look into!" he called back to him. When the man approached the destroyed vehicle, the crimson-eyed teen handed it over to him.

"Well, I'm going to bet he was on drugs or he was drugged. Either way," he glanced back at the man. "He was a dead man."

The policeman began inspecting the container, saying, "Check the car for anymore passengers. Dead or alive, I want to know who else was in there."

He nodded and turned back to the broken machine as the man walked away to talk to the injured blonde. He shuffled things around in search of any survivors. He heard someone, perhaps a young girl, softly call his name. "Aedrian? Is that you?"

The teen quickly looked at the backseat and moved some of the crushed materials out of the way. On the floor of the car, there sat a little girl who appeared to be no older than twelve. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. She seemed a little dazed. Someone must have given her the same drug the dead driver was on.

"Isabelle? What are you doing here?" Aedrian whispered to her quickly.

"I don't have time to explain. Just don't tell them too much about me." she responded. Nodding, he called back to the officer, "I found someone! Come on out, little one."

She crawled out of the car and fell, looking quite dazed as Aedrian picked her up off the ground. Turning around to the three behind, he noticed Marik reach into his pocket and pull out his wallet. When he opened it, he discovered that his license and his credit card were missing. "I swear I had them on me, officer. I know I did."

Aedrian decided to pull a stunt and put on an act. "Marik, I have your credit card. You left it in the mall last week. Be thankful no one took it."

Marik, Bakura, and the officer looked at him. The albino was cofused, the policeman stared at him indifferently, but Marik glared daggers at Aedrian. The teen walked to them and returned the card he had secretly stolen back to it's owner. Attempting to keep his tone at level, he said, "Thanks. You wouldn't happen to know where my license is, would you?"

Aedrain appeared to think about it for a moment before he had an idea. "Oh, I have that, too. I found it this afternoon during our little game." He gently gazed into Isabelle's warm blue eyes and asked, "Darling, could you get it from my pocket for me?"

The blonde girl nodded and reached down from his arms. She produced the missing license from his jacket pocket and stuck it out to the tan-skinned teen. As he accepted it, laughing crimson met furious violet before he looked away and handed it to the police officer in front of him.

Bakura glanced back at the car and inquired, "So, who's the driver?" Another officer had overheard he question and said, "I'll check him out and see if I could get some ID on this guy." before walking away to complete the assignment.

Isabelle began sobbing in his arms. "I'm scared. I want to see Mommy and Daddy. Where are they?" She started crying louder. "I want to see them again!"

There was a white flash in Aedrian's eyes. He looked around, confused of what was happening around him. He couldn't remember what had happened in the last few hours. He looked at the young girl, who was in tears in his arms. He remembers this child. She's an old friend of his. Well, technically, she's only twelve or so, so he guessed that made her a young friend.

Looking back to the current situation, he noticed that Marik had a broken leg, a man was killed in a crash, and the police were everywhere. He murmured, "Isabelle?"

"Yes, Yami?" Isabelle knew of his 'little problem' and could tell exactly when it kicked in and when he was himself. Of course, Yami didn't even know about his problem. He just shrugged it off as another memory lapse. Yami knew what to do in these kinds of situations. However, he already knew Isabelle and her family.

"Why are you here? What happened?" Yami mumbled to her. Still pretending like she was in tears, she mumbled back, "I can't say, really. Everything is a bit of a blur. Just don't say too much about me, please?"

When the officer reappeared before the two, he asked questions of who her mother and father was, any siblings, how old she is, and what she could remember before the incident.

"Isabelle Blue? Ah, I remember you." the man smiled. "You're a good kid, do you know that?"

"Of course I do. I hear from mom that you would talk about me all the time." she replied, her tears drying up.

"So, I need your full name, your parents' names, and the names of any siblings you have, Miss Blue." he stated, pulling out a notepad.

"My name is Isabelle Samantha Blue and I'm thirteen years old." Yami was off by a year. "My mother is Jane Rosemary Blue and my father is James Andrew Blue. I have two older sisters named Violet Lynn Blue and Leslie Sarah Blue and one older brother named Jake Michael Blue." Bakura's head immediately shot up at the name.

"I remember Jake! He's an old friend of mine! How's he been?"

"He's fine, Kura." Isabelle smiled. Marik shot a look towards his lover.

"She gets to call you that, but I can't?!" he complained. Bakura glanced back at the blonde.

"She's a child and she's Jake's little sister. She has every right. Now stop bitching about it or I'll break your other leg."

Marik pouted, but he didn't say another word on the subject. At that moment, Mokuba, Ryou, Malik, and Seto ran out to help Bakura with the injured teen. Joey, Mai, Duke, Tristan, and Téa followed close behind. "What happened here?!" Duke demanded as soon as they approached the policeman.

"That's what I'd like to know as well!" a familiar violet-eyed boy called, walking across the crowded streets.

"Hello, Yugi." Bakura greeted when he was within earshot. "Marik was hit by a drugged driver and suffered a broken leg."

"Ouch. That's gotta hurt." Yugi said, watching as Malik and Ryou helped hold him up. Of course, not without a fight from Marik first. Yami handed the child to Yugi and walked back towards the mansion.

He stopped at the door when Isabelle called, "Yami."

Turning around to face her, she said darkly, "_**She**_ told me to tell you, 'This is only the beginning.' I've been involved with her now."

Yami he stared at her in horror. *She's back?!* he mentally screamed. *Not again! Not after what happened then!* He ran back inside, leaving everyone mystified at the child's cryptic message.

* * *

Once Yami ran into Seto's bedroom, he began feeling dizzy. He held himself up against the wall, feeling like he would collapse otherwise. "No...Not _**this**_...Not _**again**_..." he said aloud.

Seto walked in, concern written on his face. "Aedrian? Or is it Yami? Are you okay?"

Yami returned the brunette's warm gaze with one of confusion. "What happened to me? How did I end up here?"

Feeling faint, Yami's hand slipped as he was falling to his knees. Seto wrapped his arm around the teen's waist and gently pulled him close. He guided the teen over to his bed and placed him under the covers. "So, are you Aedrian or are you Yami?" he wondered aloud.

Yami narrowed his eyes. "Who's Aedrian? I hope you're not confusing me for someone else, Seto." he sighed in discontent. The male began coughing. The brunette put a hand to his forehead. Putting another to his own, Yami seemed to have gotten a fever. From where and when, he didn't know.

Mokuba, Ryou, Malik, and Yugi ran into the room, wanting to ask Yami a few things about what happened a moment ago. However... "Seto? Is Aedrian okay?"

"Yes and no, Mokuba." he responded. "This isn't Aedrian."

"I'll ask again." Yami was beginning to get angry. "_**Who is Aedrian?**_"

Yugi stared at the other three hoping to get an answer from one of them. Malik and Ryou exchanged worried glances as Mokuba widened his eyes. "I don't think that's a good thing."

Bakura walked in with Marik. "So, did we miss anything?" the albino asked upon entry.

"Yami's come back to his senses." Mokuba replied.

Both yamis widened their eyes in shock.

Yugi was sick of these people ignoring the question. He began shouting, "Could _**someone**_ explain to me who Aedrian is and what Yami has to do with it?! I would like to know what's going on here!"

"You and I both, Yugi." Yami agreed, shooting an impatient look at the group.

The teen sat up and growled, "If someone doesn't start talking, I'm going to start throwing things." The threat barely had any impact due to his condition, though.

Moments passed before Seto, Ryou, Mokuba finally began to explain what had transpired while Yami had a 'memory lapse' (or so he claimed). Yami wanted to hear this one.

* * *

Once they finished, Yugi was staring at Yami and Yami stared at everyone else.

"I'm sorry, but I can't believe you. I've never done anything like that in my life." the male responded, shaking his head while doing so.

Seto gave him a look. "You can believe everything else that someone tells you, but you think I'm bluffing?"

"No, I just can't believe that you would confuse this Aedrian person with someone like me. First off, I'm not a thief."

"I call bullshit!" Marik piped up from Bakura's side. The albino responded by kicking him in his leg. "OW! What was that for?!"

"That was for being rude." he said bluntly.

Yami rolled his eyes. He continued, "And second, I'm not looking for a lover right now. My life is complicated enough at the moment and I don't need more drama until it's sorted out first."

Yami stood to his feet and walked downstairs even when everyone else tried to hold him back. When he passed by Joey and the rest of the group, the blonde said, "We took Isabelle home. You don't have to worry about her now."

He ignored them and started walking home, leaving them puzzled about his attitude. He needed to clear his head for a while.

* * *

That night, Yami was lying in bed staring at the ceiling. Thinking back to what happened today, he just couldn't imagine himself doing any of those things and not remembering any of it. He glanced at the clock on his night stand. It read '11:56'. The crimson-eyed teen sighed. It was hard for him to sleep to begin with, but tonight was harder than usual because of what he was told. He thought about Seto and was unaware when he bgean blushing lightly. He fell asleep just before midnight.

Once it came around, the teen's eyes opened slowly. He climbed out of bed and walked to the window, saying, "What will it take for him to unravel his heart and learn to love another again?"

He pulled out the tarot card deck again and shuffled it. He drew three cards like before and set them in a triangle. He waited a few moments before flipping the card on the left. It was The Lovers. The meaning was quite obvious, so he turned over the next card. It showed The Tower. Well, with _**her**_ now prowling about, he could understand. And the final one was The Moon. A betrayal soon approaching. But when and by whom? Only time will tell.

The teen glanced up at the cloudless sky and watched as a shooting star passed by. He smiled in content. "Maybe nothing is as it seems..." he mumbled. He wrote the reading down and left it on the desk as per usual before walking back to the bed and crawling under the covers.

"Not everything is as it seems..." he whispered before drifting into a blissful slumber.

* * *

**~A/N: **_Isabelle is an important character in this one, so this will not be the last time you will see this little angel!_

_Yami__: Hello, Isabelle._

_Isabelle__: Hello, Yami._

_Marik and Bakura__: You two know each other?!_

_Yami and Isabelle__: Yep!_

_Sakura__: I am starting a Truth or Dare story, so I need ideas for truths and dares and, if you guys so desire, I will put in some romance as well. It's a work in progress, but I will get it done!_

_Yugi__: Please Review!_


	6. Chapter 6: Curiousity

_**Sakura:**** Hey! So sorry this took so long to post, but with me juggling high school with me managing my stories, you can kinda see what happens there.**_

_**Seto: Which is why you should read the bottom of the chapter once you're done.**_

_**Yami: Hope you like it!**_

* * *

Chapter 6 - Curiosity

Seto glanced out the window into the vast emptiness that is the outside world. He couldn't sleep due to the questions that swirled in his mind since that afternoon. Yami has some sort of problem, but he openly denies it. One minute he is the reserved man that some knew as the former pharaoh of Egypt millennia ago, then he's some sort of self-proclaimed prophetic thief the next. What could it-

It finally clicks in his mind. "Son of a bitch." he mumbles, slightly irritated at the thought. "Yami is born with some sort of derangement. No wonder he seems so confused."

"You're still up, Seto?" his younger brother mumbles sleepily from his bedroom doorway.

Seto doesn't turn his head, but gently asks, "Shouldn't you be in bed, Mokuba?"

"Couldn't sleep." the child yawns. He hears his phone ring. Picking it up and glancing at it, there was a recent text from Yami. Or was it Aedrian. Great, now his head was spinning.

He opened the text and began to read it.

'Seto, here is a riddle for you:

Only one colour but not one size

Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies

Present in sun, but not in rain

Doing no harm and feeling no pain

_**What am I?**_'

"Seto? Who was it?" Mokuba asked, slightly more awake than he was a moment ago.

"It was just Yami. He probably couldn't sleep either." *Either that or he's sleep texting.* Seto thought in disbelief. He soon shrugged it off as a ridiculous notion.

Glancing at the clock, it read 1:30 am. He decided to turn in, even if was way too early for him to sleep. "Why don't you go back to sleep, Mokuba?" Seto asked, watching as the younger sibling began rubbing his eyes.

"Okay." He sighed, too tired to raise any sort of fuss about going back to bed. Seto closed the door and walked towards the bed. He couldn't help but think how Yami just seemed so secretive in the last few days. But that girl… the blonde child the afternoon before. What was her name…

Isabelle. Yes, that's it. She seems to have a connection to Yami. But after the accident, no one has seen her since. What did she mean by those words?

'**She**_ told me to tell you, "This is only the beginning."'_

Only the beginning? The beginning of what, exactly? *Why is everything a fucking riddle with him?* the brunette thought venomously. *Everything seems to be covered in darkness, nothing clear, always something hidden in the shadows of-*

His thoughts froze almost instantaneously. Wait a second… Shadows…

He glanced back at his phone seeing he had left the text open for any and all to see. Reading the bottom of said text was a name. Aedrian.

* * *

Yami woke to his 5:00 am alarm. He slowly opened his eyes and scanned the room. He may have been tired, but he couldn't help feeling a little paranoid at Isabelle's message. _**Her**_ message.

The teen gently put his hand on his forehead. Even he could tell that he was getting sick _**again**_. After taking a hot shower, he had just finished getting dressed when he heard the doorbell's soft ringing. Yami walked down and opened the door to Yugi and Joey, who were standing there with bright smiles on their faces.

"Mornin' Yami!" Joey greeted.

"Morning, Joey. *cough* Morning Yugi." Yami smiled back at the duo.

Yugi greeted, "Good morning, Yami. Are you feeling any better?"

"No- *cough* Not really, no." the teen responded hoarsely before he began coughing up a storm. Joey and Yugi exchanged uncertain glances, unsure if they should let Yami leave the house in his present condition. Yami looked quite ill and could barely support his weight, thus the reason why Yugi's twin was leaning against the door for balance.

When Yami yawned, Yugi hesitantly suggested, "Maybe you should stay home today, Yami."

When said teen gave him a confused look, Joey translated, "He's saying, 'I don't think it would be a good thing if you passed out in class and scared the shit out of everyone.'"

The crimson-eyed teen couldn't help glaring at the blonde with a gaze that threatened death. Wasn't as effective with him feeling sick and tired.

"I didn't need a translation, Joey." Yami growled, causing the other to flinch. Smirking at the reaction from his friend, he consented, "If you believe that I should stay here, I will. Anything else you would like to tell me while you're at it?"

Joey put a finger to his forehead in an attempt to search through his thoughts for anything important that he might have forgotten.

"Oh! Kaiba wanted us to tell you he was going to visit you after school." Joey said casually. Yami rolled his eyes. He'll never understand him and his casual attitude.

"Do I dare ask why?" Yami inquired, a little pissed at the fact that this was decided without his knowledge or consent.

"Kaiba didn't give us a reason." Yugi responded timidly. Yami wasn't too happy about this, with or without that false smile on his face. "He just wanted us to pass it on to you."

*I suppose I can't complain.* Yami thought, thinking of a few things that the arrogant brunette would want from him or speak to him about. "Alright, alright, if you see him, tell him I'll be expecting to see him this afternoon." Yami sighed, conceding defeat.

Yugi suggested, "Why don't you sleep until then, Yami?"

With a final nod and a farewell or two, the duo took off towards the familiar path to school. The crimson-eyed teen stepped back to shut the door. He glanced outside the window of the living room once more before returning to his bedroom. He was expecting someone later on today. Yami passed out on his bed in an attempt to fall back asleep.

Two hours later, Seto had sent him a text while he was in blissful slumber. Yami never answered.

* * *

Sometime around 2:30 pm, Yami woke in slight discomfort. His mind was in a haze and he was beginning to feel nauseous. Whatever it was that he caught this time, it was taking its toll on his body.

Yami held his stomach, turning on his side and moaning, "Son of a bitch." The pain was killing him!

His head was throbbing and he felt feverish just lying there in bed. As much as he wanted to do something about it, he just didn't have the strength to actively do something to eliminate the pain. He picked up his laptop from beside his bed and turned it on. He produced his flash drive from a bag nearby and put it in.

Yami began to type up the rest of his fanfiction that he started at Joey's house. He got as far as chapter 3 before saving it and pulling up the story he had been originally working on. He continued to finish the tenth chapter and looked it over. It ended differently than he thought it would. He glanced at the clock. It read, '3:24 pm'. *I still have an hour or two.*

Yami eventually rose to his feet and walked downstairs. Upon walking into the kitchen, he instantly froze when his crimson eyes suddenly locked with an amused azure.

"About time you got up." Seto sighed half-heartedly as the teen stood there with a confused look on his face. It just didn't add up. How did Seto get in?!

"I could swear I locked the front door!" Yami cried indignantly.

Seto smirked at him. "That damned thief isn't the only one who could pick a lock. Especially one as simple as the one on your door."

The male stood there in shock. The brunette approached him with a cup of tea. "Try this." he said, placing the hot cup in his hands. Yami had a sudden hot flash, swaying when it hit and almost dropping it in the process.

Seto took the glass off his hands and wrapped an arm around his waist. Setting it down, he guided the ill teen to the couch and helped him lay down. Certain that he was fine, he returned the glass to him.

"Are you sure you're even supposed to be up?" Seto asked with a small laugh. Yami scowled at him.

"I'm fine, Seto, so I don't see why you're even here, let alone taking care of me."

He shook his head. "Well, if that's the way you want it to be, maybe I'll leave." he sighed airily, walking towards the door.

Something came over Yami between then and the brunette walking outside. He had put his tea down in a hurry and almost fell onto the floor, rushing over to him and attacking him from behind with a hug, saying, "No!" Seto stopped, listening to Yami's somewhat heavy breathing and the whisper that said, "Please, don't go."

The male smiled at the request. Once Yami released him from his grasp, he turned and picked him up bridal style. Setting him back on the couch, he thought, *Can he ever stop being who he is?* He couldn't help smirking at him as he took a sip or two of the tea.

Placing one hand on Yami's forehead, the smaller male seemed to relax at his touch.

The brunette was handed the glass to set it down on the table at the other end of the couch. Yami was feeling really drowsy and it was driving him crazy, considering the fact that he still had the headache that just won't go away. Seto proceeded to find some medicine in the hall closet. He thought it would be much easier to locate the right medication than actually get a stubborn Yami to take it. Looking back at Yami, the teen had a hand on his head, a sign that he had a horrible headache.

There were all sorts of medicines on every shelf. Seto gave a low whistle, thinking that it was a miracle if Yami could find anything in here to begin with.

He eventually narrowed the list down to two bottles. One was red and the other was green. Seto called over to him, "Red or Green?"

"Green one, s'il vous plaît." Yami responded weakly. This fucking headache was driving him nuts! "Quel heure est-il?" the teen asked breathily as the heat from his fever began to affect his body.

Aware of the lingual change, Seto laughed, "I was unaware that you spoke French." He handed the bottle to him.

Yami promptly responded, "Mais oui, je parle français! Pourquoi?" Seto shot him a look.

"Yami, speak English. French is starting to give me a headache."

Yami realized this and apologized, "It happens sometimes."

"It's 4:16."

"Hm?" Yami tilted his head to the right a little.

The brunette ran his fingers through Yami's soft hair. "Earlier, you asked for the time."

"I did?" The crimson-eyed teen thought about it for a moment. "Oh, I remember." *I still have time, then.* he added as an afterthought in his head.

Swallowing the pills, he listened to Seto as he said, "You don't really seem surprised to see me here. Looks like the mutt and the pipsqueak did their-"

Yami had stood to his feet and slapped him across his face, the angry red mark evident. "Don't _**ever**_ talk about my friends like that!" he growled, causing the other to visibly flinch.

As he began to walk away, Seto's hand shot out to catch his wrist, pulled him closer to his body, and nuzzled his lips on his neck. Puzzled, Yami dared to look at the brunette only to have his confused crimson eyes meet with a set of lustful azure.

He turned to look at him carefully. Seto's attitude had changed so suddenly. He tilted his head up with the guide of the male's hand and was brought into a gentle kiss. Caught in the moment's distraction, Yami wrapped his arms around his neck and entangling his hands in the silky brown hair hoping to get more of the sweet taste on his lips as things began to quickly escalate.

However, they came to an abrupt halt when Yami's cell went off. Growling in irritation, Yami looked at it to see who was calling. He answered it before he missed it.

"Hello?" he said, waiting for a response. Seto couldn't quite hear the conversation, but it was definitely a woman talking to him. Well, more like screaming.

"Wait, slow down, Maiyo! Now, why - What? I ... he didn't ... Well, he could've - Okay, I'll meet you out front, alright? I'll see you soon."

He hung up as Seto caught Yami in his grasp. "Who was that?" he asked.

"Just a friend of mine." Yami shrugged, attempting to remove him from his person. "I'm in a bit of a hurry, so if you don't mind..."

He sighed before releasing the smaller teen. He could only wonder how he managed to run that fast upstairs and back down with a black bag covered in a blue rose pattern. He could only wonder.

Seto walked to the window as Yami dashed out the door. Outside was a black car, a young girl standing there with one of the doors open, wearing some gothic black dress, and had a smile upon her lips. She had medium long black hair with blue tips. Assuming this was the girl Yami called 'Maiyo' earlier, he witnessed the male tackle her with a hug, dropping his bag in the process.

"It's so good to see you again, Maiyo!"

"It's only been two weeks!" He saw a male with black hair in the driver's seat. "Shun?! What are you doing here?!"

"Come on, I can't say 'hi'?" the teen laughed. "Get in or we'll be late."

"Oh wait!" Maiyo pulled out a black top hat with a yellow sash on the bottom and a blue rose on the left side tucked in. "Try this on real quick!"

He took the hat from her and put it on. "It fits perfectly! Thanks, Maiyo! You're the best!" he said, giving her a quick kiss on her cheek. "However, I think the other one would work just fine for this one. Maybe we'll use the top hat next time." Seto narrowed his eyes, feeling jealous at the way Yami was acting around them. So carefree and innocent. Like they've known each other for years.

"Get in, you two. We've gotta go." Shun repeated, rolling his eyes at the teens. "Sorry!" they said, Maiyo picking up Yami's bag and putting it in the backseat, climbing in and shutting the door as the driver hit the gas pedal.

Seto quickly ran out the door to see a smile on Yami's face before they were halfway down the street. He briskly walked to his own car and began to follow them. He couldn't help but question why Yami was being so secretive about his personal life.

* * *

Seto lost them for a moment before he located them at a park near a building used for holding concerts. There were tons of other people wearing the same gothic outfits similar to the one the female wore when she picked Yami up. *Speaking of which, where is he?* he thought, keeping himself hidden from the swarms. He knew what they were.

Cosplayers.

Seto made a point of avoiding if at all possible. Last time he was passing through a site like this, they attacked him, forced him into some bizarre costume, and covered him in some sort of makeup he couldn't get off for a week! He passed it off as sickness once, but he would rather not have to give a repeat performance of that incident.

Yami was most likely dragged to a cosplay site knowingly by his friends. But why? Unless...

"OMG, Kaitsu and Tesuni are here!" Seto heard one of the girls shriek in excitement, turning his attention to the black car as a woman with long, flowing light green hair come out wearing a black dress. One that appeared quite like the one the woman named Maiyo was wearing just a few moments before. He watched as the driver climbed out, looking like a servant of nobility. That was the one named Shun. But where was Yami?

The group was talking amongst themselves as he watched as a male with short blue hair and stunning blue eyes stepped out of the vehicle. The mysterious cosplayer was wearing a rather flamboyant outfit. A black suit with a flowing blue cape, a white ribbon with a garnet stone in the center, a walking cane that was made from a dark wood with an emerald-cut garnet colored jewel on the top, white gloves, a white mask to hide his face, and a hat that brought out the mysterious nature of the male. He looked like someone out of a fairytale!

The green-haired woman clung to his arm, acting like she was with him. This somehow infuriated him. Kaitsu's lips were moving, but he couldn't hear a word he was saying. He managed to keep himself concealed as he approached the black car in silence.

"Are you sure about this one, Maiyo?" Kaitsu asked, seeming a little nervous. Seto was trying to make the connection between the two.

"You'll be fine, Yami. With those contacts on, even if your friends pass by, they won't even suspect that the man named Kaitsu is the Yami the think they know."

The brunette's suspicions were true. Yami was a cosplayer.

* * *

**~A/N:**_ Fifty bucks says no one saw that coming! For anyone wondering about Yami's cosplay outfit, think of Kaito in the Cantarella videos. Maiyo's outfit? Miku in Cantarella. That is, if you know Vocaloids. If not, disregard this sentence entirely._

_Yes, I took three years of French, so I do know how it is said and/or translated. No, I will not be using French that often in the story. As for the Tarot Cards before, those will come into play every so often. As often as using French in storyline will be. Which will be very rare. I hope you liked the surprise! Please Review! X3_

_**{I'm thinking about doing one story at a time until it is complete, so if you want me to put my other two stories on hold, tell me so by PM or Review. It's up to you. If you want me to continue the way I am writing my stories, which is me typing the next chapter of all my stories and posting them all at once, you could say so as well. All comments will be accepted. Most votes on any story will become my main priority so I can update faster. Thank you for your attention. Have a great day!**_

_**~ Sakura Beth Valentine}**_


	7. Chapter 7: A Secret Singer Inside

_Sorry this had taken so long, but it's here now and I hope you guys like it! Now,if you all will excuse me, I have a concert to prepare for! Enjoy! X3_

Chapter 7 - A Secret Singer Inside

* * *

How could Yami be a cosplayer of all things?! *But why do they call him that?* Seto wondered, backing away a little from the duo as they began waking away.

Yami laughed, his voice rich with the pride he was familiar with, but deeper and warmer than usual. Maybe because he was comfortable with this crowd...? The girl next to him, presumed to be Maiyo, let out a childish giggle to make herself seem innocent.

"Kaitsu!" Someone called to him. A male with hazel eyes and black hair. Or perhaps it was a very dark brown? Who really cares?

"What is it, Toneiro?" Kaitsu, or should he say Yami, responded.

"Are you going to change the script again, or was that just for fun last time?" the male asked with a vicious gleam in his eyes that made the both of them uncomfortable.

The week before, Yami had indeed pulled some sort of stunt the last time everyone had gathered. During the scene they were portraying, Yami had a few hot flashes before passing out. Many thought he was just messing with them. Shun and Maiyo had pulled him aside when he came to, but was acting quite differently than he was moments ago. There were drastic changes to the script, but it went well nevertheless. Before anyone realized what had happened, Yami had been restored to his proper self. But he had no recollection of what had occurred after he passed out just hours before.

Kaiba noticed something about Yami at that moment of silence. The familiar choker he remembers seeing every single time he looked at him was hidden under the ruffles of his shirt. Can everyone else see it, though?

"Well, I'm fine, if that's what you're asking." Yami answered. The boy in the ghastly outfit he wore, possibly that of a commoner, only chuckled quietly to himself. He brought something into the light. One that had Yami, Shun, and Maiyo tense up.

"I also heard that you can sing, Kaitsu! Why don't you sing something for us?" That set practically _**everyone**_ off.

"Kaitsu can sing?!"

"No way! Sing something for us!"

"That's a lie, Toneiro! You should know for a fact that I _**can't**_ sing!" Yami said, flustered at the casual comment. The look in Toneiro's eyes and the smirk he made to the response made Yami realize that was terrible mistake.

"I know for a fact that you _**can**_ sing, Kaitsu, and I can prove it!" The other male held up a disc. The color the left in Yami's face was shocking. Trembling, he asked, "What did you plan to accomplish with that?"

"Simple," Toneiro began, making sure he could see the fear in his eyes before he continued. "This disc has a single song on it. One from someone we all happen to like. I'll put it in and you are going to sing it for us. And, no, you can't get out of this one." Yami had wanted to say something, but the last part of that sentence made him stop. He was screwed.

Seto stared at the disguised Yami in disbelief. *Yami can sing? That'll be a first.* he thought, wondering what Yami plans to do to get himself out of this one. The brown-haired male gestured to the theatre just across the street. "Shall we step inside for your performance?"

Maiyo and Shun exchanged worried glances with one another before quickly glancing at Yami. Yami had a very bad case of stage fright. Unless he can miraculously change so he doesn't have that problem, there might be a scene.

They whispered "Good luck" to him before they followed the rest of the crowd inside, leaving Yami petrified outside. *I can't do this!* Seto sees Yami begin to turn, the male pretending to be wandering around the area for a little while. Spotting the bastard forcing him into this mess, he quickly hid behind the car that Yami, Maiyo, and Shun came in.

"Everyone's waiting, Kaitsu! Why keep them that way?" he sang as he began dragging Yami towards the theatre. Yami started protesting at Toneiro, but anything he said fell on deaf ears. Seto decided to follow him, in case something happens. Just to be sure that no one notices him, he kept to the shadows as he tailed them inside.

* * *

*So he can sing and he's a cosplayer. What else is he not telling me?* Seto thought venomously as he scanned the area. Everyone was chatting among themselves to pass the time until music starts. When he located Yami in the crowd, he was being dragged off backstage. As he shadowed them, he could hear the conversation that already been started.

"This is bad. This is bad. This is very, very bad." Seto paused for a moment. That wasn't Toneiro. Who dragged Yami back here then?

"How did this ever happen?!"

"Kaitsu, don't shout. You don't want to cause a scene." a girl whispered.

"Well, I think it's too late for that!" Yami whispered furiously, fear evident in his tone.

"The only thing Maiyo and I can do is to watch, but we need to bring Phoenix out here before you go onstage." Shun came into Seto's view. Maiyo seemed to be keeping Yami calm. Or, at least trying to.

"Phoenix? Who's Phoenix?" Yami demanded, still coming to grips with the inevitable performance.

Maiyo and Shun exchanged worried looks once again. Yami still has no idea about his little 'problem'.

Shun looked around to see if anyone else was around. "Yami," Maiyo began, her voice faltering slightly. "Phoenix is you, but he's… someone else."

"Um, I don't think that's clearing anything up for him, Maiyo." Shun piped up, nodding that the coast was clear.

Seto watched curiously as to what Shun was doing. "Oh, sorry." The girl mumbled before standing up and moving aside for the teen.

Shun reached for the choker around Yami's neck, but the male shied away, swatting his hand. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Yami, please! Keep your voice down!" Maiyo pleaded desperately as she quickly searched the area in case anyone heard them.

"Something wrong, Kaitsu?"

"Uh oh! It's Toneiro!" Maiyo gasped.

Shun turned to the horror-stricken teen and took one of his hands into his (which infuriated Seto) and quickly whispered, "Yami, listen to me. We'll explain everything once all three of us are alone, but, for right now, please let us handle this and Phoenix will do the rest."

"I'll ask again, who's Phoenix?" Yami repeated, sounding rather miffed with everything at the moment.

"Kaitsu? Coming back there! I hope you're ready!" Toneiro called from the stage.

"Shun, we've gotta go!" Maiyo whispered quickly before taking off.

The black-haired male looked back on Yami and began taking off his choker. The male flinched from his touch. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Trust me, Yami, it's either this or you passing out onstage." Shun replied as he slipped off the accessory.

There seemed to be some sort of flash in his crimson eyes. "Shun? What's going on?" The genuine confusion in his voice confounded Seto.

"Phoenix?" Shun tried, hoping for something.

"Of course it is!" he whispered. "Who else could I-"

"Kaitsu! I found it!" Toneiro called nearby.

"Am I singing?" Yami (?) asked.

"Yeah, I'll explain as much as I can later." The black-haired male sighed as he took out a choker of his own and put it on Yami (?).

He glanced behind him as they heard Toneiro's steps nearing. With one last look, he whispered, "Good Luck" before taking off.

"Was there someone else back here?" the brunette demanded.

Yami (or should we stick to Phoenix now?) smiled back to him. "Whatever do you mean? I'm just waiting for you to tell me the song I'm singing." Seto stared at him, shocked at the sudden change in attitude.

*What the hell just happened?!*

"Tell me, do you know Cinema Bizarre?" the male inquired curiously. The guy was having way too much fun with this for some reason.

"Of course I do! Why wouldn't I?" he confirmed, a smile on his lips. He was fully prepared for this.

Good! Get on stage and I'll put in the song." Toneiro said as he was walking off. Phoenix made his way to the stage and waited for the song to start. Seto made his way back to the crowd, but he decided to stick to the door out of the hall in the event he was caught again.

The song was one all the cosplayers knew well (they were also fans of Cinema Bizarre).

Phoenix opened his mouth and his elegant voice projected itself to the crowd, his movements matching the rhythm of the music.

_Do you know how it hurts when you lose a friend?_

_You waste your time with anger, waste your life with fear._

_Do you know what it means when a story ends?_

_You simply can't help hiding. You can't say you feel._

*So,* Seto began thinking. *Is Phoenix just a stage name he takes on when he performs? He's a beautiful singer!*

_Do you erase and replace what you're thinking?_

_Do you erase and replace what you feel?_

_There's so many ways to get lost without God's bleeding._

_Erase and replace, know what is real._

The girls were going nuts over Phoenix and the guys were most likely envious of his talent. Some were even becoming fans of his. Phoenix was good at this!

It sets Seto thinking, *Okay, so Yami is...well, Yami. When he claims that he's someone named Aedrian, he's a thief. Now, he's someone named Phoenix who is a singing cosplayer! What's next?!*

_It's so hard to forget when you simply can. You need something to believe in._

_But you can't turn back time._

_It is true that you win even if you lose._

_The things that really matter? They're always on your mind._

The entire crowd was going crazy over this one teen; the only singer on stage.

Toneiro smirked at the accomplishment of getting Yami to sing. Seto wanted nothing more than to break him slowly, painfully.

_Do you erase and replace what you're thinking?_

_Do you erase and replace what you feel?_

_There's so many ways to get lost without God's bleeding._

_Erase and replace, know what is real._

Maiyo and Shun seemed happy that Phoenix was enjoying himself, but they seemed concerned. *Over what exactly?* Seto wondered.

_You keep looking for something_

_That's been in front of your face._

*What was the point of all of this, really?*

_Do you erase and replace what is mssing?_

_Erase and replace, 'til it's healed?_

_Do you erase and replace what you're thinking?_

_Do you erase and replace what you feel?_

_There's so many ways to get lost without God's bleeding_

_Erase and replace, know what is real._

_Do you erase and replace what you're thinking?_

_Do you erase and replace what you feel?_

_There's so many ways to get lost without God's bleeding_

_Erase and replace, know what is real._

_Know what is real._

_Know what is real._

_Know what is... real._

The crowd went insane after Phoenix had finished his performance. With a smile on his face, he waved to the people, knowing they probably wouldn't forget him anytime soon. Seto watched as he began walking backstage. He followed Shun in the shadows so he wouldn't be seen.

Phoenix (or should return to calling him Yami since the show's over) ran into Shun on the way. Literally. "Oh! My apologies, I didn't see you there, Shun." he said quickly as he assisted the black-haired male to his feet.

"It's alright, Phoenix. I should have been paying attention to where I was walking." he laughed, seemingly unfazed by the collision.

"Ow..." Yami moaned, a hand to the right side of his head. Shun looked at him. "Are you alright?" Shun asked.

"M-My head... it's killing me..." The crimson-eyed male sudden began to fall forward. Shun caught him just before he hit the floor.

"What happened to me? I don't remember anything..." Seto saw Shun bit his lower lip before he lied, "Nothing really happened, Yami." He touched his forehead. "Have you been sick lately?"

"Possibly." Yami responded. "You still owe me an explanation for who Phoenix is." His eyes widened. "Wait, the performance!" he gasped as he attempted to stand only to fall on his side.

"The performance was finished five minutes ago, Yami." he laughed. "Besides, I think you should get a little bit of sleep before you try to do anything else." He picked him up bridal style and carried him into a nearby room. Conveniently enough, it was a place for someone to sleep in.

Setting him down on the bed, he sighed, "Would you like anything before I go? Maiyo and everyone else might be wondering where I'm at."

"No, thank you, Shun." Yami replied dismissively as he turned on his side. Shun pulled out a water bottle from the mini-fridge on the table.

"Well, I'll leave this here for you just in case, okay?" he said, placing it on the stand beside the bed.

"If you insist." Yami sighed comfortably before drifting off into a dreamless slumber.

Shun walked out a quietly closed the door. "Shun?" someone whispered. Turning his head, he watched as Maiyo walked out of the shadows.

"Maiyo? What are we going to tell him? He wants to know who Phoenix is." Seto was curious to know himself.

"If we tell him now, it might break him. I've seen these kinds of things before." Maiyo sighed. She had a friend who killed herself when she found out she was crazy.

"Well, there has to be some sort of way to tell him. People will most likely bring it up in the future." The male began pacing. Maiyo tapped her foot as she watched him walk back and forth for a while.

"The best we can do is say Phoenix was just another cosplayer who took his place."

Shun shook his head. "No, he'll know we're lying."

"We'll figure it out before he wakes up, okay?" Maiyo stressed, trying to tell him to rejoin the others.

"If you say so."

The couple passed right by him, but he followed them back out. He didn't spy on them anymore, thinking he's seen enough. He walks off to his car and climbs in, turns the key, and begins his drive home.

* * *

**~A/N:**_ I as listening to "Erase and Replace" by Cinema Bizarre while I was writing this chapter, so I mixed it in just because I could. Do I have any fans here? You don't have to answer that. X3 And yes, Yami has more than just Aedrian to deal with now. I've been planning Yami's derangement for quite some time now, so I hope I'm doing well on this. Please Review! Don't be afraid to say I'm horrible at this! ^ _ ^"_


	8. Chapter 8: Mysteries Unfold

_Hey! Sorry if this is so late! Midterms are coming up and I'm trying to type as fast as I humanly can. Now, Chapter 9 of all the stories are indeed almost ready, so I may have it put up in the next few days or next week. Either way, Enjoy~!_

Chapter 8 - Mysteries Unfold

* * *

Yami woke up about five minutes later as the light-headed feeling subsided and with his coat was over him like a blanket. He went to sit up but the blood immediately rushed to his head. "Ooo, I shouldn't I have done that..." he moaned as he fell back onto the bed as quickly as he had gotten up. *Let's try this a little slower...* he thought as he tried again a little slower.

He finally managed to sit up after an attempt or two and noticed that his stuff for the cosplay was either on the dresser or leaning against the wall. Yami sighed with a smile. "Thanks, Shun." He mumbled to himself as he grabbed his mask and gloves. After placing the top hat on his head, he looked at his cane. Yami grabbed the garnet stone top and used it in case he felt like collapsing again.

Placing the mask on his face, he walked out into the sunlight. Someone called, "Kaitsu's here! He's awake!"

Maiyo ran over to him and clung to his side. "I'm glad you're okay, Kaitsu." she mumbled. Yami laughed gently, "Thanks for the concern, Tesuni."

Shun called for everyone's attention. "If all of you are done fawning over Kaitsu, perhaps we could get back to what we were doing before?"

* * *

After they were finished, Shun calls "I got shotgun!" and hops in the passenger seat. Yami and Maiyo shrug and just get in. Maiyo decided she was going to drive.

Shun laughed on the way there, saying, "You know, Phoenix actually was a great singer! You should've heard him, Yami."

"You didn't happen to record it, did you?" he asked curiously. Shun hesitated for a second before lying, "No. If I had known, I probably would have. Sorry."

"It's okay!" Yami smiled. "I didn't expect you to." That's when his cell started ringing. Ryou's name showed on the caller ID. *Why would Ryou be calling me at a time like this?* he wondered as he answered it. "Hello? What is it, Ryou?"

_"__Hey, Yami__. __Is everything alright__? __Some of our friends are certain that you're avoiding us__. __They told me to check for them__."_

Yami sighed. "Everything's alright, Ryou. I've just been a little busy. Nothing's wrong."

_"__Alright, then__. __I'll tell them that__! __See you later, Yami__!"_

"See you later." he said before hanging up. Maiyo pulled up to his house.

"Here you are! I hope to see you next week, Yami!" she said as he got out.

"See ya, sweetheart!" Shun crowed as Yami passed by his window. The crimson-eyed teen smiled, trying to suppress his laughter as he smacked him across the back of his head.

"Ow! That hurts!" the black-haired male whines as the girl beside him bursts out laughing spontaneously. She pulled out of the driveway and began to drive away laughing all the way.

Yami shook his head as they drove away. When he unlocked his door, though, a woman stood before. One with brown hair and hazel eyes. Someone he hadn't seen in a long time.

"You..."

"Hello, Yami."

* * *

Later that evening, Mokuba, Malik, Ryou, and Yugi snuck into Yami's house. Both Yugi and Ryou had reservations about breaking and entering.

"Look, we should go before we get caught." Ryou whispered fearfully. Yugi nodded.

"Guys, calm down and keep quiet." Mokuba sighed. "We won't be caught. I promise." Malik caught Mokuba's attention and wordlessly tell him he was heading up to Yami's room. Mokuba nodded and handed a device to Ryou and Yugi. "You can talk to us through this as well as see what we see. Stay down here and keep quiet, 'kay?"

With acknowledging nods, Mokuba hurried upstairs after Malik. After Mokuba got in front of the other teen, Malik whispered into the headset he wore as quietly as possible. "Can you guys see anything?"

Ryou responded, _"__There no movement down here__. __I can see what you see and Yugi can see through Mokuba__."_

"Alright, then. Warn us if anything changes." he commanded.

_"__Will do__."_

Malik nodded towards Mokuba. The black-haired male noticed the door was unlocked, so he pushed on it gently to allow a little light. When they looked inside, to say they were shocked was an understatement.

That's when Yugi sounded on Mokuba's headset. _"__Mayday__! __Mayday__! __Mokuba, your brother's in the driveway__! __Pull out now__! __I repeat, _pull out now_!"_

Both males heard their friends fleeting footsteps head for the back door they came in. They quickly ran down the stairs in order to escape. However, Yami heard them as he called, "Is someone there?!"

Thank God that Seto knocked on the door or they would have some major explaining to do.

* * *

Seto heard Yami calling, "Is some there?!" as he approached the door. Confused, he knocked on it anyway. While he waited, he could swear he saw four teens retreating into the woods. *Now who could that have been?* he wondered as a surprised Yami opened the door.

"Oh, hello, Seto. What brings you here so late at night?" he inquired.

"I was bored and had nothing to do. Is that a problem?" Seto asked.

"Not at all. Come on in." Yami invited, stepping aside for the brunette. "It's freezing outside."

Seto made his way inside. Something seemed a little suspicious about the teen letting him in so easily.

"Can I talk to Aedrian?" he asked. Yami laughed at the comment.

"You are talking to him." Seto wasn't all that surprised to hear that. "Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

They began walking upstairs to Yami's room. After Yami curled up on the bed, the doorbell rang. Seto sighed irritantly, "Well, there goes talking for no reason."

Aedrian quickly said, "I'll be Yami in a second, just a fair warning." before closing his eyes. When the doorbell rang again, how fast Yami ran down the stairs and opened the door happened was a blur to Seto.

"Come on upstairs. Where's Yugi, Malik, and Ryou?" he heard Yami ask as they climbed the staircase.

The group entered the bedroom and sat down wherever convenient for them. The group included Joey, Tristan, Téa, Duke, Marik, Bakura, and Mai. "So, I take it that Yugi and the others have disappeared is the reason all of you are here?" he asked. "Why anyone wants to come over at midnight is beyond me."

"I take it you haven't seen them either?" Joey sighed.

"Aibou said something about being with Mokuba. Why?"

"They said they would be back at ten. It's almost twelve!" Seto tried to piece everything together.

"Mokuba never said anything about being with any of you today." he just so happens to mention. Everyone exchanged glances.

"So, where could they be?" Duke asked as Marik and Bakura left the room unnoticed.

It was only a matter of moments before everyone heard four screams. When Marik and Bakura reentered the room, they each had two teens in their hands. Joey gasped, "Yugi!" and Seto said, "Mokuba? What are you doing here?"

"Seto!" he squeaked, sounding rather scared than surprised.

Marik held his hikari and Mokuba and Bakura held his hikari and Yugi. They looked like they were guilty of something. "We found them in the woods behind your house. Perhaps they could shed some light as to what they were doing there in the first place." Bakura suggested.

A car horn sounded from the front yard. Yami ran to the window and spotted the source. He grabbed his bag. "I would love to stay and chat, but I have to get going. I'll see you all later!" With that, he slammed the door shut and ran out the door. Seto glanced outside to see Yami carrying a bag big enough to fit a body inside. He got in a black car and toward the driver to get going.

Duke shook his head. "Yami's been acting really weird lately." Joey looked at Yugi, Marik glared at Malik, Bakura shot a cold gaze at Ryou, and Seto just glanced at Mokuba.

Tristan turned ti them and asked, "What are you guys doing here?!"

Seto suggested in a gentle, curious tone instead of one with anger and said, "You know something, don't you?"

Mokuba hesitated before nodding his head. His brother then demanded, "Don't lie to us, then. Tell us everything you know."

* * *

**~A/N:**_ Sorry! I had to do this to you guys! I'm still working out te kinks for this whole Multiple Personality thing. Whatever they are calling it now, I don't care. _

_Yami(Aedrian)__: I think it's about time they told us what they're hiding. *Cheshire Cat grin*_

_Sakura__: Aedrian! Don't scare them!_

_Yugi__: P-Please Review._

_Malik__: We're in so much trouble for this, aren't we?_

_Mokuba__: No, you think?_

_Ryou__: *sweatdrop* Guys..._


	9. Chapter 9: Confessions

_Hey! I got this in sooner than I thought I would! So, Almost to my tenth chapter on all my stories and I've got almost ten chapters written for the truth or dare story I'm going to put up next for you guys! X3 Ignore me, rambling again. Don't let me keep you from my wonderful, if not confusing fic!_

Chapter 9 - Confessions

* * *

The next morning, Yami woke to the sound of both his phone and his alarm blaring at max volume, scaring the living daylights out of him. He thought he was about to have a heart attack. Yami answered his phone. _"__Yami__?"_

"Who else could it be? How weird is it when you call me and my alarm goes off at the same time?" Yami sighed, too tired to put up with anything at the moment.

_"__Pretty weird__."_ Joey responded._ "__Speaking of which, why haven't you been talking to us recently__?"_

Yami rolled his eyes. "I've just been busy lately. I thought I told you guys that already."

_"__Yeah, you did, but__..."_

"But...?" Yami waited for Joey to continue.

_"__Look, I'm just making absolutely sure__. __Are you sure nothing's on your mind__?"_

"I'm _fine_, Joey. Don't worry so much!" Yami insisted. "Look, you can talk to me when we see each other at school, 'kay? Bye!"

_"__Yami, wait__-"_ Yami hung up him before he could get another word in.

On Joey's end, the blonde stared at the cell in rage. "Damn it." He turned to Mai, Duke, Tristan, and Téa. "No luck. He hung up on me."

He climbed in behind Mai. "Let's go."

Seto waited by the gates of Domino High in hopes of finding the recently secretive Yami. After getting the truth out of Mokuba, there were a few things that needed to be explained to him. Especially the fact that Yami was hiding his own gender from his friends.

* * *

_His brother then demanded, "Don't lie to us, then. Tell us everything you know."_

_Mokuba shuffled his feet as he remained in Marik's grasp. Malik and Ryou exchanged worried looks and Yugi swallowed hard. "Well?" Marik growled impatiently._

_Seto's eyes lit up in realization. "Wait..." He leaned forward a little to look into his brother's blue eyes. "Were you four running for woods earlier?" he asked curiously, his eyes flitting between the boys. The teens in question tensed. Malik tried to get them out of this._

_"Yeah, right. Why would we be around here anyway?" Malik began his lie. "We happened to be passing through the woods on a whim. Whatever went on here, we have nothing to do with it."_

_Mokuba silently prayed. This situation is bad enough as it is. "I'm pretty sure Kaiba asked you not to lie." Marik said plainly, causing them to shiver._

_"You're not in trouble, Mokuba. I just need to know, okay?" the brunette said calmly. True, it's wrong to spy on people, but if Mokuba's got something about Yami that they need to know, he's going to get the answer one way or another._

_The raven-haired male sighed in defeat. "Alright, alright, I'll tell the truth." He looked at the others, waiting to see if they were ready to listen. "We were spying on Yami."_

_An outraged burst from the blonde was enough to make him flinch. "You guys snuck in here?! I thought you guys knew better!" Joey demanded before Mai smacked him at the back of his head._

_"How about giving them a chance to explain themselves before screeching at them, Joey?" the buxom blonde suggested coldly. Joey just rubbed his head in slight pain._

_Malik, Ryou, and Yugi exchanged rather worried looks as Mokuba continued, "You guys wanted to know why Yami was being so secretive as of late, so we did the work for you." He looked at the group half-expecting them to be clawing their eyes put or something._

_"We had no idea what we were getting into. Not until we saw Yami..." His voice trailed, unsure of how to tell them what they saw._

_"I think they saw something that they weren't supposed to from him." Bakura laughed, mentally congratulating them on sneaking in and almost getting away with it. Ryou's voice sounded in his head, *"I can see what you're thinking. And, I'm not proud of it, but thanks anyway, I suppose..."* The thief chuckled quietly at that._

_"I think it'll be easier to show them, Mokuba. I think I accidently left mine on record." Ryou offered casually, feeling a little foolish for doing so._

_Mokuba nodded as Bakura released the smaller albino to go fetch the device from the living room where he dropped it in the panic. When he brought it up, he play the scene back._

**Note: Anything said from here will be coming from the video until otherwise noted.**

_"_Is it on, Ryou?_" Yugi's voice sounded._

_"_I-I think so..._" Ryou responded hesitantly._

_"_Can you guys see anything?_" Malik asked from the device._

_"_There's no movement down here. I can see what you see and Yugi can see through Mokuba._" Ryou said quietly._

_"_Alright, then. Warn us if anything changes._"_

_"_Will do._"_

_Ryou waited, looking around for anything peculiar. Yugi decided to start a conversation to lighten the mood._

_"_So, um, you didn't want to come either?_" Yugi asked._

_"_No._" he laughed. "_If anyone else found out about this, God knows what they'll do to us._"_

_They both looked for any sort of visual update from either Mokuba or Malik. The timing of it was... well, they weren't sure what to say because they were seeing Yami. With breasts..._

_"_Yami's a woman?!_" Yugi gasped. He looked up, trying to comprehend what he just saw, but he spotted Seto's car pulling up in the driveway. He widened his eyes in fear._

_"_Mayday! Mayday! Mokuba, your brother's in the driveway! Pull out now! I repeat, _pull out now!" he said quickly before taking his and running as if his life depended on it. _

_Ryou took the one he was holding and went to turn it off._

**Note: Video's over, guys**

_Marik and Bakura instantly released their hostages in pure shock of seeing the former Pharaoh as a woman. "What the hell?!" they screamed simultaneously._

_Mokuba nodded, "Yami's a girl. She's a crossdresser."_

* * *

Seto was still a little shaken over that conversation, but he got his answer. He watched as Mai's car pulled up. He half-expected Yami's head to pop out. No such luck as Joey and the rest of his friends climbed out of the vehicle.

However, a black car caught his attention since Yami climbed out of that one instead. She nodded her thanks as she walked towards the school. The brunette aprroached her.

"Yami." he started, hoping he got the attention he requested.

The teen turned to face him. "Oh, Seto. Did you need something from me?" she requested, still sounding like the Yami he knew.

"Come with me." he said as he grabbed Yami's arm. "We need to talk."

He dragged her to a classroom where it was closest to her first period class. Shutting the door so no one could hear them, he released Yami and crosses his arms over his broad chest. "Start talking, Yami. Why have you been so secretive lately? You've been avoiding everyone." he demanded, waiting for the female to answer him.

"What are you talking about?" Yami asked, seeming genuinely confused. "I haven't been avoiding anyone. They just haven't said anything to me."

*Damn, he's catching on, isn't he?* she cursed mentally, hoping Seto didn't notice anything.

The warning bell rang out, saving her from further interrogation. "I have to get to class!" Yami said before turning and quickly opening the door to make her exit.

Seto cursed his luck. "How convenient..." he mumbled in frustration. This wasn't going to be easy...

* * *

Seto spotted Ryou towards the end of the day. "Ryou." he called, hoping to talk to the young Britain.

The albino ran over to him with a simple, "Yes?"

"Have you seen Yami? She was here this morning." the brunette asked. Yami had been gone since third class.

"Oh, she claimed that she wasn't feeling well, so they took her to the nurse." Ryou replied. "I would assume they sent her home."

"Hn" was his only response before thanking him and making his way to the gates to await Isono's arrival.

* * *

"Honestly, how do you continue this derangement act for so long, my dear?" a female brunette asked her prisoner who was chained to the wall in the shadows.

The male growled lowly before saying, "It's no act, Suarez. They'll find him, Valencia. You can't keep Yami in the shadows forever."

The woman tutted, "Just watch me, _sweetheart._ I'm a much better actor than you give me credit for." She kneeled to look into his crimson eyes. "Now, tell me, what is exactly is your personality like? Daredevil? Noble Prince?" she began guessing.

The teen smirked and lied, "Try suicidal. Remember when you murdered them? How depressed do you think he was, hm?"

Valencia thought about it for a while. "Well, that's kinda my point and purpose in some of this. So, I need to pretend to want to die to pull it off?"

Riley nodded. Yami may have been depressed, but he knew better than to kill himself. *He's already improving thanks to that boy.* he thinks as she tries to pin the faux persona.

"No, no, no, you're doing that all wrong, you stupid girl!" Riley sighes exasperately. "Think of yourself as a bit of a martyr, so to speak. Keep practicing and you'll be pretty convincing, okay?"

The woman smiled darkly. "I can already do that. They don't suspect a thing." She turned on her heel and headed for the door. Glancing back for a moment to say, "I'll be back for you, love!", she walked out of the cold gray room with Yami's home being the destination in mind.

* * *

Seto approached the house later that night to check on Yami. She had been acting strange enough as it was. He walked up to the door and knocked on it.

The moonlight seemed to have caught some because Seto turned to see a window to his right had been shattered. The adrenaline began to course through him as he ran over and carefully climbed into the house concern shining in his cobalt eyes. The sound of a gun being loaded in Yami's room drew his attention. He dashed as fast as he could only to walk in with the female in question holding the gun.

"Yami? What are you doing?" Seto dared to ask. Yami turned to look at him. The pain in her eyes were clear. Seto reacted quickly as she put the gun to her head. He leapt at her in an attempt to disarm her. He succeeded just before she pulled the trigger, pinning her to the wall and accidently catching her lips in a heated kiss.

When they parted for breath, Seto asked, "What were you thinking?! Why were you trying to off yourself?!" Yami remained silent for a moment, feeling a little shaken.

Instead of giving an answer, she pulled him close for another passionate kiss. She found it quite... enchanting. Seto looked into those crimson eyes and asked, "What's gotten into your head to kill yourself?"

The look in Yami's eyes changed. Instead of pain, there was hope. For what, Seto could only guess. He began laughing, a sad look in his eyes. "A better question... is why I haven't done so already." he mumbled as he pushed himself off of the wall.

The male caught him by the wrist. "What do you mean by that, exactly?" he demanded as Yami pulled away and faced him.

He backed away from him as far as the window to the balcony. "I don't exactly know who Yami is..." He drew a knife from his sleeve. "But I am Riley Spade. I am one of you. A _**monster**_..." He put the knife to her throat, getting ready to kill himself.

* * *

**~A/N: **_So, Yami's a suicidal woman?! Shocker!_

_Marik__: I still think this is a load of bullshit!_

_Bakura__: I know! It's like saying this isn't a straight-up Prideshipping story!_

_Sakura__: Indeed! ;) Please Review! X3_

_Seto__: Please tell me that Yami isn't a woman! I don't think I could handle that after all of this!_

_Sakura__: Perhaps something could be arranged since I'm typing up the next chapter this very moment!_

_Seto__: Preferrably _not _a dead lover would be nice._

_Yami__: I'm not going to die. Sakura here wouldn't allow that._

_Sakura__: Got that right! And I apologize for slight bashing in the next chapter to those who like her._


	10. Chapter 10: Insanity Personality?

_Hey everyone! Welcome to the tenth chapter of my story! This means all of my stories have reached either half or a third way through! My accomplishments show! X3 In any case, I need ideas for an upcoming Truth or Dare story. This means a free-for-all war! X3 Any personal questions or embarrassing dares can be sent to me via PM or review! Enjoy this story!_

* * *

Chapter 10 - Insanity Personality?

Riley kept the blade steady at his throat as a dull look set itself in his unusually dark, pained crimson eyes. Seto held his breath as he attempted to think of a way to disarm him. Reacting quickly as Riley's wrist twitched, the brunette lunged at him and pushed him to the floor causing him to drop the knife and sat on his legs.

"Snap out of it, Yami! I know you're still in there somewhere!" he pleaded desperately.

Riley just laughed at his futile attempts. "Yami's _gone, _Seto. He's not coming back. What are you doing?"

Seto began frisking Riley in case he was still armed since he doesn't seem to listen to reason. In the process, he found a few more knives, a lighter, a couple of guns, and a bomb or two. "What the hell is all of this?!"

"It's not bad unless you find the gasoline." Riley shrugged nonchantly. He was dangerously calm for someone who was going to attempt suicide.

"What the hell are you trying to pull?!" Seto demanded.

Riley sighed and began to confess, "After a certain... incident, Yami closed himself off for a while. This was after his parent's were brutally murdered by his ex-girlfriend. The heartless wretch."

"What about his ex-girlfriend?" Seto dared to ask.

"He was only, what, 12? 13? Anyway, Yami had brought her over one evening. Since they were lovers, they were sleeping together. Natural thing for love, no?" Riley sighed before continuing, "Valencia, his ex, had gotten up sometime during the night and, without waking her boyfriend, walked away. Next thing he knows, he wakes to a shrill screech from his parents' bedroom."

Seto tried to picture all of this and see how this all connected to the person in front of him. "What happened, dare I ask?"

"Oh, when he walked in, his parents were in pieces. Literally." The thought made him shiver. "Blood was everywhere, a knife had been shoved hilt-deep into the floor, the windows were shattered with the freezing rain pouring in. Valencia had killed them that night, reasons unknown. So, since that night that she had left, he was feeling... Hell, I don't even know what he was feeling at the time. It drove him insane to know she could have killed him in his sleep, yet she didn't. Why? I haven't the slightest idea." he shrugged nonchalantly.

"What happened to her?"

"It seemed as though she made her exit from the only window that _wasn't_ broken." Riley answered. He spoke the truth. {considering the fact he wasn't made for the honest guy, he's quite the singer right now, isn't he?}

"After that, I was his suicidal side, you see. He thought he had no purpose in life after Valencia." Riley concluded, waiting until Seto said what he needed to.

*Valencia... Valencia... Where have I heard that name before?* he wondered as Riley quietly chuckled, "However, it would seem that he has a reason to stay alive. I don't think I'm really needed anymore, do you?"

Seto decided to let him up, keeping himself on guard in case he tries anything. "Oh, don't worry, I won't try anything unless I deem it necessary, 'kay?"

"That's hard to believe." Seto scoffed.

"And I lied." Riley happens to mention. "Yami's still here. I was just testing you. I should let him come back to you."

"What are you-" Seto didn't get to finish that thought as the teen began to fall. The brunette catches him with ease. "Damn. Why do I always find the ones who don't have a shred of sanity?"

Yami stirred in his arms. Seto leaned in close to give him a soft kiss to wake him. "Yami? Are you awake?"

"I am now... I think." she mumbles, opening her crimson eyes to see them a little brighter, full of hope. Cobalt clashed with crimson before they kissed again rather passionately. When they parted, the teen happens to notice the weapons.

"Seto? What are those for?" she asked, rather worried. The brunette looked behind him and noticed he left those out. *Shit, Yami doesn't remember that!*

"I don't recall those being there." he lied, hoping Yami doesn't catch him.

Yami looked at him with a subtle skeptic look. "Are you sure?"

"Would I lie to you?" he tried. Yami thought about it for a moment before saying, "Possibly. Depends on what you're so desperate to hide."

Seto bit his lip and helped Yami to her feet. The brunette happened to notice that her wrist has cut. "How about I find the first aid kit? You have quite a few cuts there." he said instead, changing the subject so Yami wouldn't worry too much. The teen just nodded before walking off into the bathroom to wash off the blood.

Seto sighed when she dropped the topic. It was one less thing to worry about now. He thought he heard someone talking outside, but he ignored it once he heard a soft yelp from the bathroom. The brunette ran in to see a few bloody pieces of glass on the sink and Yami sitting there with a pair of tweezers. Her wrist had a particularly large shard embedded in it.

Yami tried again to pull it out, but accidently pushed it further into her wrist. She drew in a sharp gasp of pain while the other teen walked over. "Here. Let me get it out." Taking a gentle but firm hold of her wrist and attempted to extract the glass. At the slightest tug, Yami winced again.

"How about you hold on to my arm? This might be a little painful." Seto suggested. The teen took the brunette's right arm and waited for the pull. The male took the tweezers and tried again to pull out the shard. He knew he was getting somewhere when he felt the squeeze of his arm. He eventually managed to get it out.

"OW!" Yami cried as it was ripped from her wrist. She held it gingerly as her blood flowed to the marble floor. Seto couldn't help but stare at the size of the shard in his hands. *How she managed to get this in her wrist, I have no idea...* the brunette mentally sighed as he put it aside.

Knowing Yami might have more on her since she seemed to have thrown herself through her window, Seto sighed, "Take off your shirt. I need to see if there are any stuck to your back." The female widened her eyes, almost appearing scared or worried.

"I already know you're a woman, Yami. There's nothing to worry about." Yami hesitated for a moment before complying to the brunette's order and cast the article aside. Seto looked at her back to find perhaps a few medium-sized pieces and plently of very small ones just sticking out on the skin. Of course, the cloth covering her breasts were kind of getting in the way. Seto found a pair of scissors and began to cut it off.

When it came off, Yami sort of squeaked in surprise, a light blush forming on her male merely rolled his eyes at the reaction and resumed his work of taking out the glass. The voices he had hoped were some form of hallucination had gotten louder as the sound came to the shattered window. All noise instantaneously stops for a moment before Joey shouts, "Yami?! Yami, are you okay?!" The sound of people attempting to climb through the window made Seto give a not-so-subtle eye roll before said blonde and his friends should up at the bathroom door.

"Yami? Are you okay?" Yugi squeaked, hoping that his friend was okay.

"Yeah, I-I'm fine!" Yami responded with a bright scarlet blush. She felt embarrassed that they can see her half-dressed with some other guy in the room {I probably would too!}

"Why is the window downstairs broken?" Tristan asked. "I'm assuming you had something to do with it?"

"Erm..." Oh, Yami knew _exactly_ why the damn window was broken, but she didn't want them to know that she knew.

"My guess is that she kind of threw herself at it." Seto suggested while pulling out another piece from her back.

She hissed back her discomfort. "You know, I'm sitting right here, asshole!"

"You think I care at the moment?" the brunette scoffed.

"How did I end up with _**him?**_" she mumbled in disbelief.

"Because you're not as smart as you think you are." Seto whispered in her ear. "Don't think I don't know that you're not him." He set the tweezers aside. "Why don't you go wait in your room? We can talk in a minute." The female sighed and took the shirt that was handed to her.

She wasn't keep waiting when the teen walked in and shut the door behind him. "How did you figure it out? I thought I had everyone fooled." the mystery woman wondered.

"You're not that great of an actor to get caught so soon in your act." he bluntly insulted. "Where is he?"

"Who?" she asked curiously. "I don't think I know of who you're talking about, Seto Kaiba." Icy cerulean clashed with laughing hazel eyes for only a moment.

"You know for a fucking _**fact**_ that I'm talking about Yami. Who are you and what have you done with him?" he growled, pushing her against the bed.

"Oh? Do you do this to every person who gets on your bad side?" she taunted, further enraging him.

Seto pulled out his gun and pointed to her temple. "Unless you want a bullet in your head, I suggest you start talking." he demanded as he cocked it.

She wrapped her slender legs around his waist, throwing him off guard for a moment before suddenly letting go in the favor of rolling off the bed and getting to her feet with a weapon of her own. "How about you fight me for it?"

Shots were fired and both teens were left staring the other down. The maiden then made a feral growl, that of possessiveness, saying, "Know this. Yami was and always has been mine. I'm not letting go again."

* * *

**~A/N:** _Okay, just know that I have changed a lot in this chapter and the next so I could move things along. I promise you that after __Chapter 11 - Valencia__, everything will back on schedule with the fic. Now, in celebration of this, I will be posting up 5 chapters of 'Bored On A Sunday' and letting you guys comment on it. _

_In any case, I sincerely apologize for the sudden inconvenience and I hope you enjoy this chapter and the upcoming fight scene between this mystery woman who has seemed to kidnap Yami and Seto Kaiba._

_Now, you guys are really great for continuing to read my story (stories if that be the case) despite the constant delays and possible confusion with any of them and with any of my bullshit that seems to occur in these chapters. And for that, I thiank you and ask for nothing more. So, Please Review while I work on my chapters for Moonlit, Pure Snow, and Bloodand post the first 5 chapters of BOAS._

_Love you guys! X3_


	11. Chapter 11: Valencia

Chapter 11 - Valencia

* * *

Seto watched the young woman, searching for her obvious strengths and weaknesses. She was most likely doing the same to him. The male thought it would be best to toy with her for a few minutes to get an idea of her fighting style and how to use against her.

A mischievous gleam shown in her eyes before she lunges for the brunette. Seto narrowly avoids getting cut. He was sorely tempted to kill her immediately, but something in his head told him that she was the only thing connected to Yami's current location. Without her, there's no way he would find him, let alone know whether he's dead or alive.

In his momentary distraction, the mystery maiden had turned around and dug the blade into his back. Sure, it hurt like a bitch, but Seto really didn't give a damn as he put a bullet into her leg.

"Bastard!" she swore, letting go of her weapon and falling to one knee. The male gingerly pulled it out and tossed it aside out of her reach.

Putting the muzzle of his gun to the middle of her forehead, he demands coolly, "Who are you? I won't ask again." The mystery maiden remained silent long enough to decide whether or not to call his bluff. That thought didn't last long when she heard him remove the safety.

"You have ten whole seconds to start talking." Seto warned, his patience running out. The young woman chuckled, "Are you always so hotheaded?"

"Only when someone gets on my badside. Five seonds." She sighed, knowing that it would be no fun if she was dead.

"Isabelle knows who I am. Find her and you'll find me." Then she swung around and disarmed him of the gun. "That is, _**if**_ you make it out of this fight alive!" Seto growled at her, taking his blade again and throwing at her. She ducked and rolled to her left to avoid it.

"Wow, you need to work on your aim, Seto Kaiba." she taunted, pulling out the blade that was embedded in the wall and waving it at him. What she didn't expect, though, was another knife thrown at her head. She yelped before narrowly dodging it, her eyes wide with shock. *Looks like playtime's over.* the brunette decided quickly, scrambling to her feet and towards the window.

"You're not going anywhere!" Seto shouted, pulling her back towards him with a look filled with bloodlust. But with one look into her hazel eyes, he knew exactly who she was. "What...?"

That one moment of hesitation allowed her to swing her left foot at his face. The pain that shot through him temporarily blinded him as she made her escape. All he heard was her laughing as her minions drove away into the night.

"Damn it!" he swore, picking up his blades and his gun. He glanced putside the window again to see which way she had gone, but she had already vanished. Seto had realized who that woman was and that was a threat in and of itself.

_"Isabelle knows who I am. Find her and you'll find me."_ the female's words echoed in his mind. Problem was no one had seen the blonde child since Marik's car accident. She had mysteriously disappeared moments after they he had a word with Yami. Obviously this woman was someone Yami didn't want to associate with again.

"I know why _**I **_don't want anything to do with that whore." the brunette sighed in the otherwise empty room. He couldn't help but look at a picture of Yami on the nightstand. Picking it up, he whispered, "But why don't you?"

"So, apparently your little boyfriend connected the dots." the woman said airily in her agitation.

Yami laughed at this. "Of course he would. No one's perfect, Valencia."

"Oh? I'm not trying to be perfect." the brunette chuckled. "I just wanted the act to last a little longer."

"It's a shame, I know." Yami sighed, trying subtly to get free of his bonds. Valencia laughed at his futile attempts. "It's no use, love. You're not leaving until I say so."

"Really? And if I somehow manage to?" he asked curiously. "Then I would do this." Valencia said cryptically before the male suddenly found himself on the ground with his head throbbing. He only lasted for a moment longer before everything within sight was engulfed in darkness.

Seto ran down the stairs and out to his car. He was going to call Mokuba and tell him not to go outside, but it turned out that the raven-haired child was lying in the backseat.

"Hey, Seto." he yawned, uncrossing his legs and sitting up to properly see his elder sibling. "Isabelle wanted me to tell you where she is. She's waiting for us there."

* * *

**~A/N: **_I know, I know! .; The chapter was way too short, but since this chapter was sort of last-second because of the plot setup…_

_In any case, preview for the next chapter!_

_Next Chapter__: __**Memories of the Past**_

"_You work for me and your family remains untouched. Refuse and I'll kill them off one by one." _

_Please Review! X3_


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